Dodging a Bullet
by DizzyDrea
Summary: It felt like she'd dodged another bullet, maybe two, in the last half hour. And for someone in her line of work, that was way too much good luck for one day. But she wasn't going to question it, just try to enjoy it for as long as she could. Part 11 of Scenes From an Accidental Courtship.


Title: Dodging a Bullet  
Author: DizzyDrea  
Summary: It felt like she'd dodged another bullet, maybe two, in the last half hour. And for someone in her line of work, that was way too much good luck for one day. But she wasn't going to question it, just try to enjoy it for as long as she could.  
Rating: T  
Spoilers: _The Livelong Day_ … or maybe _Fallout_ … I honestly can't remember  
Author's Notes: I wrote this back in November 2013 (yikes!) and just recently discovered it on my laptop. I have no idea why I didn't post it back then, but I thought maybe I should do it now. I'm putting it at number eleven in the series, because that's where (I think) it falls, chronologically, and because it makes sense there. I really don't remember which episodes are referenced within, so virtual cookies to you if you can remember. Also, the first person who can pick out the movie reference wins the chance to prompt me on a Callen/Nell story. And, posting on a Monday because I enjoyed a rare, computer-free weekend. Enjoy!  
Disclaimer: NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles and all its particulars are the property of CBS, Paramount, Donald P. Bellisario, Belisarius Productions, Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~o~

They'd dodged a bullet this time. And for a team that made their living doing just that, it should have been unremarkable.

Nell Jones would never again take that particular skill for granted.

She sat at her station in Ops, running through the day's events as she began the process of filing her report. This one wasn't going to be fun to write; not that any of them were, but this case had the feel of a clusterfuck waiting to happen.

She chuckled to herself. If anyone could hear that thought, they'd be scandalized. Nell wasn't exactly known for her colorful language, but she'd long ago learned never to underestimate other people. It still amazed her that everyone else tended to underestimate her.

"That looked like a particularly amusing thought. Care to share with the class?"

Nell looked up to see Eric tumbling into his chair. He leaned back, letting out a deep sigh as his eyes fell closed.

"You look about as tired as I feel," she said.

Eric popped an eye open. "Do you know how creepy it is to have Hetty holding a _shotgun_ , watching my every move?"

"Poor baby," Nell said, patting his knee.

"So, what had you smiling before?" Eric asked.

"Just thinking," she said, smiling, "in colorful metaphors."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "I thought maybe you were thinking about a certain special someone. Maybe one of those guys you were texting a couple weeks ago?"

Nell pursed her lips. Eric was almost probably fishing for information. He was, quite possibly, the last to know what was really going on between her and Callen, and she did feel bad about that. They were supposed to be friends, and friends didn't keep friends out of the loop. Still, she hadn't quite known how to tell him. The two of them had been close—closer once than they were now—so this should have been easy.

Trouble was, it wasn't easy at all.

"You know I wasn't going to go out with them, right?" she asked, deciding the truth was long overdue.

Eric shifted in his seat. "Sure, I know. But you seemed to enjoy texting them. I just thought—"

"—that I might be into one of them?" When he nodded, she sighed. "Kinda hard to be into one of those guys when I have a boyfriend waiting for me at home."

"Oh?"

Nell cringed. That sounded an awful lot like disappointment.

"Eric, you know that I've been dating Callen for a while now, right?"

"Oh," he said, and that one word was loaded with even more disappointment. "I mean, yeah. Of course I knew. Well, I mean, I suspected, but you never said, so I didn't want to say anything. You know, in case you were trying to keep it quiet."

"At this point, I don't think quiet is a possibility," she said. "Pretty much everyone knows."

"But that's good, right?" he asked. "I mean, that'll make it easier for you. You won't have to sneak around or pretend you aren't as close as you are."

"Maybe," she said, shrugging. "Frankly, I think I'm more worried about what Hetty would do if I got hurt. She actually threatened Callen with bodily harm if he hurt me."

Eric shuddered. "Hetty giving the shovel talk. Not sure I'd have survived that."

They lapsed into silence at that. Nell watched Eric, who seemed to be looking everywhere but at her as he pulled up data on his computer in preparation for writing his own report. This was going to be one of those where they had to leave out more than they put in, and for just a moment she thought about dropping the subject and focusing on her own report. But Eric was her friend, and she knew she just couldn't let it go.

She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. He flinched, then shot her an apologetic smile.

"You do know that you're still my friend, right?" she asked quietly. "Just about the best friend I've got. I mean, who else am I going to watch cheesy spy movies with so we can throw popcorn at the screen every time they get something wrong?"

Eric looked at her, long enough that she wondered what he was looking for. She saw the emotions flickering across his face, but they moved too fast for her to really catch them. Finally, he sighed and smiled, though it was edged with sadness, and for just a moment she felt bad for him. She'd known for a while that he was interested in her, and it left her feeling helpless because she couldn't reciprocate.

"You're my best friend, too," he finally said. "We could watch a movie this weekend. If you're not busy, that is. I mean, if you are, that's okay. Not that not being busy isn't okay, either." He cringed. "Okay, shutting up now."

Nell smiled. Whatever else happened, as long as Eric could still be Eric, everything would be okay.

"I think I could be not busy this weekend."

"Then it's a date." He cringed again. "I mean, not really a date. Just a friendly date. Between friends."

Nell laid a finger over his lips, effectively shutting him up. "It's a date."

A noise from the doorway caught both their attention. They turned as one to find Callen leaning his shoulder against the door jamb, pinning the sliding doors open. He was smiling at them indulgently. He did that so rarely—smiled for any reason—that she felt her own pleased smile bloom in response.

Eric glanced between them, his own smile turning knowing. "I'm just going to go grab a couple of files downstairs."

He got up and sauntered out the doors. Nell couldn't see Eric's face, but Callen's told enough of the story. He was smiling gently at the young analyst, the kind of smile filled with sad understanding, as if he knew just how Eric felt in that moment. He probably did; Callen had lived a full and interesting life before she'd joined NCIS. No doubt somewhere in there was a broken heart or two.

Once Eric had disappeared around the corner, Callen stepped fully into the room, allowing the doors to slide closed behind him. He moved behind Nell's chair and slid his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back against him.

"You okay?" he asked as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

Nell sighed. "Yeah. It actually went better than I expected it to."

"You thought he'd freak out, didn't you?" Callen asked. "Maybe get jealous that we're together?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "It's just…"

"He's your friend, Nell," he said. He squeezed her shoulders, then moved around to settle into the chair Eric had vacated. "It's okay to want him to be happy for you."

"I know." She sighed again, and he reached out and took her hand, lacing their fingers together. "You're okay with us hanging out this weekend?"

"Of course I am," Callen said. "I want you to. Maybe I'll see if Sam wants to do something."

Nell smiled, the kind of smile that stretched nearly off her face, part goofy and all joy. It felt like she'd dodged another bullet, maybe two, in the last half hour. And for someone in her line of work, that was way too much good luck for one day. But she wasn't going to question it, just try to enjoy it for as long as she could. The way their lives worked, the good luck wouldn't last and they'd be in it up to their hips in no time.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat."

"I should really finish my report," she said, glancing at her computer.

"It'll still be there in the morning, Nell," he said, tugging on her hand to get her up out of the chair. "It's been a helluva day, and I think we both deserve some downtime."

With one more baleful look at her computer, she let him pull her up and away. But instead of leading her out of the room, Callen pulled her into his arms. He tangled his fingers into her hair and just held her close for a long moment.

Nell melted into the hug, winding her arms around his waist and settling in. They fit so well together, and she never felt as safe as she did when he was holding her. She tried to soak up that feeling so that the next time one of them was in danger, she'd have it to hold on to. It happened depressingly often, so she knew she had to take her moments when she could.

Callen pressed a kiss into her hair. "Have I told you that I like your hair down?"

"You do?" she asked, pulling back to look up at him. "Really?"

"Really," he said, smiling as he ran his fingers through the fiery strands. "It makes you look… sexy. Sexier. I like it."

Nell smiled as she pushed up on her toes and kissed him. It wasn't exactly appropriate to be kissing in Ops, and given that Callen and the team were probably in Granger's doghouse, it wasn't too smart to do anything that would give him more ammunition, but she could hardly give a care.

Just for this moment, she was going to enjoy what she had, and worry about the rest later. She'd earned it, after all.

~Finis


End file.
